Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa

The Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa (SWMENA) was a gender-focused multi-year project to study the status of women in three countries: Lebanon, Morocco, and Yemen. Funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), IWPR worked on the project with the International Federation for Electoral Systems (IFES) toward improving the status of women in the MENA region through strengthening local NGO capacity to use research to more effectively advocate on behalf of women.

In order to fill gaps in existing data about women of Lebanon, Morocco, and Yemen, advisors in those nations participated with IFES and IWPR in designing household surveys. Survey research areas included women's political and civil participation, economic participation and well-being, social attitudes toward women's roles, violence, reforming laws, social autonomy (access to education, role in household decision-making, and control over household resources), access to health, and level of education. Based on the data once the surveys were completed, IWPR and IFES prepared analyses in the form of Topic Briefs and made these along with the survey data available on the project web site: www.swmena.org.

IWPR also completed an NGO Capacity-Building Tool Kit to further help NGOs by providing guidance about methods for seeking additional data in the future and ways to use it to change policies and practices in order to help women. IWPR brought to this project its specialized expertise in defining, measuring, and analyzing comparative and comprehensive indicators and conducting participatory research concerning the status of women.

Latest Reports from IWPR

Using Research on the Status of Women to Improve Public Policies in the Middle East and North Africa: A Capacity-Building Toolkit for Nongovernmental Organizations
by Denise L. Baer, Ph.D., Jane Henrici, Ph.D., Layla Moughari, Barbara Gault, Ph.D.
(October 2012)

This toolkit provides methods, techniques and tips for individuals and organizations to
undertake and use research on the status of women as a mechanism for positive change
in the lives of women, their families and communities. It was designed as a part of a
larger project, the Status of Women in the Middle East and North Africa (SWMENA).